View full sizeCuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, a Democratic candidate for governor, may not have fired up the troops by voicing skepticism about his party's chances in next year's Ohio House races.Lonnie Timmons III, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Northeast Ohioans might not be familiar with Peter Beck, but the Cincinnati-area state representative could be making more headlines soon.

And though Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald is quite familiar to voters in these parts, the Democratic candidate for governor is trying to rally support elsewhere in the state.

Meanwhile, incumbent Gov. John Kasich is getting called out by a good-government group.

These are just a few of the stores you shouldn't miss today in Ohio politics ...

The charges, if they stick, could help Democrats neutralize GOP attacks regarding two of their own: Carlton Weddington and Clayton Luckie, two former state representatives who received prison sentences after being convicted of corruption-related charges.1 more seat:New FitzGerald rally cry?

Joe Vardon of the Columbus Dispatch reports that the gubernatorial hopeful, in a speech last weekend to the Fairfield County Democrats, promised “an enormous showdown” between his office and Republican lawmakers if he’s elected next year.

But FitzGerald also added that there’s only a “very small chance” that the party will pick up the one seat it would need to keep the GOP from overriding his vetoes.

Speaking of FitzGerald, a key initiative of his first term as county executive is now on ice. The Plain Dealer’s Laura Johnston reports on how his push for four East Side suburbs to merge wasn’t garnering much support from residents in those communities.

In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden swore in former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the nation’s consumer watchdog. The Plain Dealer’s Stephen Koff notes that Cordray has long been on the job, but now it comes with some security.

Koff also has a conversation-starter on Obamacare and the savings the White House says Ohio already is seeing from the president’s signature – but polarizing – health care law.

And, finally, a link for those who keeping tabs on the Rex Elsass saga. The Ohio-based political consultant’s new right-hand man tells The Plain Dealer that Elsass never sent a “female pleasure machine” to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Former colleagues embroiled in an ugly dispute with Elsass have suggested otherwise.

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